There are a number of shelving and organizer systems available which mount to the back of the front seat of a motor vehicle. By way of example, these systems may allow a passenger in the back seat to watch a movie on a portable video player placed on a shelf mounted to the seatback, place food or beverages on a shelf mounted to the seatback, use such a shelf as a desktop or workplace, or attach storage or trash containers to the seatback.
There are a number of mechanisms for temporarily attaching these systems to the seatback without modifying the vehicle, including straps that wrap around the headrest, plastic or cloth cords that wrap around the headrest posts, and hooks that go over the seat itself. However, these mechanisms can loosen, they can interfere with the comfort of the front seat passenger, and since they are not fixed in place, they can move unexpectedly as the vehicle starts, stops, or turns sharply. One recent patent application (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/661,931) discloses a mechanism where two attachment members slip over the two headrest posts. Because each of the attachment members have at least two points of contact with the headrest post, the mechanism is less likely to move unexpectedly as the vehicle starts, stops, or turns sharply. However, this mechanism requires a number of additional parts—washers, nuts, bolts, and the like—in order to fix the position of the two attachment members. Not only do these additional parts lead to additional labor when installing and removing the system, they also can easily be dropped between seats or misplaced while not in use.
What is needed, therefore, is a mechanism for attaching shelving, hooks, and organizers to a seatback that provides stability, can be easily installed and removed, and yet uses a minimum of parts.